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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25978522">Riptide</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Accidentallytechohazardous/pseuds/Accidentallytechohazardous'>Accidentallytechohazardous</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Bleach</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, First Meetings, M/M, Merpeople, Romance, here for yearning and love</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 02:00:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,272</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25978522</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Accidentallytechohazardous/pseuds/Accidentallytechohazardous</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Summary: Renji is a sailor, but he doesn’t believe in stories about mermaids or sea monsters. Not until he falls overboard on a stormy night and, instead of drowning at the bottom of the ocean, <em>something</em> comes to his rescue.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Abarai Renji/Kira Izuru</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Riptide</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Writing these days has been like trying to chew glass, so take this cute shit and safe travels.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Renji had not intended to live on the ocean. It was one of those things that just happened. </p><p>There hadn’t been many options for him to begin with. Nobody wanted kids with no parents and bad attitudes. Nobody wanted them, except as expendable. So they went to the sea.</p><p>Sailors were a different breed from most. They didn’t care where you came from or who you had been, as long as you could do the work. Renji needed a job, but more importantly he needed a place to belong. And after a handful of years on the water he had black ink running up his arms, rough calluses on his hands, and the smell of the ocean braided into his hair. </p><p>It wasn’t a bad life at all. Lonely sometimes. Renji was a social creature by nature, and he missed his friends during those long stretches aboard ship. But there was a captivating sense of freedom that came with his life. Dangerous, but free. </p><p>Renji came to know the sea. Knew the way it rioted against him when the air went electric, bucking against the sides of the ship. He saw the way the waters turned from greener than any lush forest or chunk of emerald to choppy and black. It became violent and hungry.</p><p>Sailors drank and smoked. They rarely got married. This was because they knew that they were probably going to die soon. That was the price of being free. </p><p> </p><p>Renji awoke in his cabin to the sound of thunder. It was not a soft, rumbling growl of an innocent summer rainstorm. It was a threat. A crashing symphony of noise, and it promised to bring the wind with it. Wind and rough waves. </p><p>Footsteps beat above Renji’s head. A busy collection of desperate men, all trying to keep their little hunk of wood floating atop a giant body of water that wanted to swallow it whole. Renji pulled his boots out from under his bunk and tugged them on before he was even out of bed. </p><p>He expected the chaos when he emerged to the deck. The rain that pelted down mixed with the spray of saltwater, and instantly Renji was soaked to his bone and had the taste of the sea on his lips. The sky was as black as tar, storm clouds blotting out the moon and the stars they used to find their way home. But the worst part was the deck rocking underneath Renji’s feet, the terrible pull of gravity pushing him in all directions, making his stomach twist. </p><p>If hell existed, then it was certainly a pale comparison of this chaos. Lost in a realm with no sense of time, location, or even your own body. A vortex in which nothing solid existed except for the fear of sinking. Renji watched a wave slosh up against the starboard, tipping over the low walls of the ship and sliding against the deck. Again, he felt that shifting of the world underneath him as the ship threatened to capsize. </p><p>Two of his crewmates had taken up the ropes, trying to regain some control over the sails. Renji huffed a hot breath out over his teeth, searched inside himself for that grim determination that had carried him through every difficult task before. That was what Renji always had that made him different from the others. It wasn’t a love for the sea or an adventurous spirit. It was always his stubbornness. A resolve that weathered all storms. Even this one.</p><p>Renji ran towards the mast and took one of the ropes. He threw his weight backwards, and it seemed for a moment like they would pull the sails back and catch a gale of wind powerful enough to take them out of this storm. </p><p>The storm disagreed. The white sales twisted in the wind, and took the ropes with them. A howl of pain was ripped out of Renji’s gut as the rope was torn out of his hands, replaced with an infernal heat. His palms pulsated red and raw from ropeburn. </p><p>
  <em>Shit.</em>
</p><p>The air was full of frantic shouting, his crew all screaming at the top of their lungs in order to be heard over the din. Renji looked at his bloody palms, blood mixed with water dripping down his forearms. They could still fix this. All they had to do was get through the storm. The situation was grim, but this was still far from the worst-case scenario. </p><p>The deck shifted underneath Renji’s feet again. And suddenly his body was weightless, a feather hovering between crosswinds. </p><p>And then gravity came back.</p><p>He hit the water and sank like a stone. </p><p>Renji was an adept swimmer. But no human could fight against the raging waves shaking the ocean, and within a few seconds of being submerged Renji could no longer tell what direction he was meant to be swimming towards. </p><p>Renji had seen people drown before. Had seen his own crewmates tumble over the side of the ship and disappear. Had seen bodies wash up on shore, purple and bloated and rancid. And he realized something he had never thought of before; that drowning must be the most horrible way to die. </p><p>The darkness swallowing him. The powerlessness he felt as the water carried him deeper down. The pain blossoming in Renji’s chest as his lungs ached for oxygen. </p><p>Renji had never been afraid of pain before. But as his vision darkened and water began to fill his nose and throat, he hoped that it would be over with quickly. </p><p>Before his vision was completely overtaken with black, a flash of gold passed across Renji’s eyes. He thought for a moment that it might have been the Sun shining down through the water above him, but that was impossible. </p><p>He must have been seeing what he wanted to see. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Renji was having a dream. </p><p>In his dream, there were a pair of soft hands cutting through the thick darkness. There were slender arms embracing him, and the rhythmic beating of a calm, steady heart in Renji’s ears. </p><p>In his dream, Renji heard a voice singing a lullaby to him. No one had ever, ever sang a lullaby for him before. </p><p>It was a beautiful, angelic voice. It was smooth in a way that reminded Renji of the shiny inside of an abalone shell, the notes of that indescribable song like the rainbow hues that caught sunlight. Delicate and rare, Renji didn’t have to even think to know it was the most wonderful thing he had ever heard. </p><p> </p><p>And then he woke up.</p><p>As soon as he cracked them open, morning light seared Renji’s eyes. A vast blue sky was open before him, the Sun sitting on top of it like a perfect gold coin. Renji raised his hand to cover his face, and noticed a strange stiffness on his skin. </p><p>His palm, hovering above him with the fingers splayed out against the sky, was covered in a peculiar, dark green substance. Renji put his hand to his face and inhaled a familiar, salty smell. It was seaweed. </p><p>Renji sat up on the shoreline, brown sand sticking to his clothes and matted into his hair. White, frothy waves slipped over his boots before retreating back into the waterline. This beach felt like an entire world away from the night storm that almost took Renji’s life. </p><p>He should be dead. The ship hadn’t been anywhere close to shore, so there was no way he could have washed up on this beach. </p><p>Maybe he was dead, and this place was purgatory. </p><p>Behind Renji, the white sand gradually melded into hardy, green foliage. Ahead of him, the ocean stretched on and on, catching sunlight like liquid glass. And so, as a consequence, Renji had no choice but to walk along the shore and hope to find something along the way. </p><p>His footprints lined the sand, leading backwards to the spot where he had woken up. Each print followed him, and hours passed by, until nightfall. A full moon rose, and Renji found himself standing under the shadow of a harbor town he had never been to before.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>These are some facts: water is wet. The sun rises in the East. And sailors are terribly superstitious. </p><p>That was the one thing that generally separated Renji from the people he sailed with. Almost every one of them had some story about ghosts or monsters. They invented intricate rituals and superstitions that transcended the known world. Renji was of the minority who didn’t believe anything he couldn’t see with his own eyes. </p><p>He understood the need for these myths, though. The ocean didn’t care whether you lived or died. So even if you didn’t believe there was a god or force guiding you to safety, you still hoped that you were wrong. </p><p>But Renji knew for a fact that something had fished him out of the water that night. Something strong enough and fast enough to carry him through the stormy waters. </p><p>“Well, whatever it was, you owe it your life.” </p><p>Rukia’s small, deft fingers pulled the needle through thick cloth as she mended a tear on one of Renji’s trousers. Every movement of her’s was a methodical one, a display of her precise mind, and when she said those words they were set in absolute, iron-clade certainty. </p><p>Renji looked up from Rukia’s stove where he was boiling shrimp for dinner. It was a known rule that Renji could stay at Rukia’s house as long as he wanted, provided that he did something useful while he was there.</p><p>“Are you saying you actually believe me? I could be making it all up. It could just be one of those big fish stories.”</p><p>Rukia glanced back at him with brows furrowed over huge, dark eyes. “Are you making it up?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Then don’t even bring it up. The fact is that you should have drowned and yet you’re still standing here, so obviously something happened to save you.” </p><p>Renji covered his hands with rags before lifting the pot off of the heat. His palms had healed perfectly since taking the seaweed covering off. Only the old scars remained. The pot was uncovered, and released a huge breath of hot steam up towards the ceiling.</p><p>Rukia’s house was small. Sometimes even too small for Renji, who found it cramped for his huge body. </p><p>With her brother’s money, Rukia could have moved anywhere. She could have done anything. But it wasn’t her dream to live off of someone else’s fortune. The stone cottage by the sea served her fine, and she always kept an open bed for Renji when his ship came home.</p><p>“So what are you going to do now?” </p><p>“Add paprika to taste.”</p><p>“Really, though?”</p><p>Renji leaned his hip against the kitchen counter and folded his arms over his chest. He knew that Rukia was expecting some fire from him, some of that pressing ambition and curiosity, but he was reluctant to feed that urge. </p><p>He had already gotten lucky once, and Renji was not a lucky man. It was hard to believe that if he kept digging, he would like what he found. </p><p>“Even if something did save me that night,” Renji said, even though the ‘even if’ was certainly window dressing. “It’s long-gone by now.” </p><p>“You don’t know that for certain.” </p><p>Rukia picked up a small, silver pair of scissors and snipped the loose thread. She tossed the pants over her chair. She spoke to him very slowly, as if to a child.</p><p>“Maybe,” She enunciated patiently, standing up and brushing thread off of her dress. “There’s a reason why you were rescued. You fell off the boat in the middle of a terrible storm, and yet something pulled out. That’s not a miracle, it’s a mystery. There’s a difference.” </p><p>“Yeah, i know.”</p><p>Rather can continue the line of thinking, however, Renji turned back and begins rummaging through Rukia’s meager collection of spices. His thoughts hummed, despite how much Renji wished they would just shut up. But there is one thing Rukia said that Renji definitely agreed with.</p><p>Whatever happened to Renji, it wasn’t a miracle. </p><p>And as nervous as it made him, he had to know how.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>A hot breeze coasted over Renji’s skin. Water sloshed rhythmically under the panels of the docks, accompanied by the creak of wood and rope. </p><p>Renji had slung off his boots and set them aside, letting his legs dangle over the side of the pier so he could feel the waves lapping the bottom of his feet. </p><p>It was so quiet this evening. Renji watched the docked boats bob sleepily where they were tied down, like horses penned in the stable. A squat bottle of rum was passed from hand to hand as Renji watched the sea in one of it’s rare spells of calm. Amber liquid spun around in the glass; he had been too antsy to drink it. </p><p>Rukia was right. Renji was alive for a reason, and he wanted to know why. But it scared him, too. He could still hear the notes of a beautiful voice carried on the waves. </p><p>It wasn’t pulling at him, urging him into the waters like legends of deadly sirens luring sailors to death. There was comfort in it. Like it existed only for him, with no expectation of what Renji might do with it. It was a precious gift, and it was given freely. </p><p>Renji cleared his throat, and tried to remember the notes of that song. He got embarrassed singing in public, even when sloppy drunk and in a bar full of warbling sailors. But he hummed from deep down in his throat, and grasped at the melody. </p><p>After a few tries, he had it. A song that started high with yearning, then dropped to a deep, sad lowness, then finished off with another little twist of hope. Once Renji was sure he got it correct, he grew a little bolder; he tentatively tried singing it aloud. </p><p>A glint of something glimmering from below caught Renji’s eye suddenly. Between the narrow boards of the dock, there was a flickering of orange like liquid sunshine. And he knew the odds were so unlikely, he knew it, but Renji was sure he heard something large moving around down there. </p><p>Renji pulled himself to the edge, one hand gripping the wood planks to keep him from tumbling over into the black water. “Hey!”</p><p>He heard the gurgling of bubbles rising and bursting, but nothing else. Only the black water stared back at Renji, not even reflecting the moon but just sucking in all light in a soupy void. </p><p>There are no miracles. No coincidences. </p><p>Renji shucked off his shirt, and then he jumped off the pier and into the dark sea below. </p><p>The night was hot, but the water was freezing cold. And for the first few seconds after the impact Renji racked with the sudden shock of chill, until his body realized it’s buoyancy and dragged him back upwards.</p><p>His head broke the surface, red hair pasted to his face and neck. Already, he could feel the tug of the ocean currents trying to drag him out to sea, and his legs kicked against the pull stubbornly. </p><p>Renji looked around, but there was nothing he could see. Just the legs of the pier standing in the water, barnacles and kelp climbing up the worn wood. </p><p>No, he could see it: Underneath the shelter of the docks, something long and smooth slipped out of the water, followed by a delicate flicker of movement. It looked, to Renji’s eyes, like a huge tail. </p><p>Renji reached out his arms and started paddling towards that movement. Towards whatever monster or angel that was waiting for him to catch it. He thrashed against the water, the salt stinging his eyes and the lungs wheezing inside his body. </p><p>But it was useless, he would never be fast enough. </p><p>The current tightened its grip on Renji’s ankles, and his legs became heavy. Renji felt the water coast over his shoulders, then his neck, then his chin, before a wave finally covered his head and pulled him down. </p><p>There was nothing else to do but hold his breath, and wait. </p><p>A hand gripped Renji’s waist and pulled him up to the surface, granting him access to sweet oxygen once again. As he sputtered, he was aware of a human-ish shape carrying him back to the shore. </p><p>“You must stop doing this.” A low, sweet, and exasperated voice spoke to him. Renji blinked and looked up from dribbling salt water down his chin. </p><p>Two eyes were peering at him, bright blue and with a slight, unearthly glow that penetrated the darkness. The face around those eyes was slender, with the delicate, pretty features of high cheekbones and a straight nose. A narrow jaw with thin lips held a small, pursed frown. Pale, golden hair was slicked down against a tensed brow. </p><p>It would be certainly, humanly beautiful, if not for the dark, ash-colored scales rising up the apples of its cheeks. </p><p>Rather than ears, the being had two fan-like fins sliding out of it’s skin. Renji’s eyes followed down the length of the creature’s long neck, over long slashes on either side of the throat that appeared to be gills. The underside of the skin in those gashes was black and shiny. </p><p>It (he?) had narrow shoulders and a slender chest, collarbones pressing out against the skin. But just underneath the protrusion of those joints, pale and soft-looking skin was overtaken by more of those black scales catching meager moonlight and turning silver. </p><p>There was an outline of a human waist, the suggestion of hips, but where one would expect the pelvis to lead towards separated legs there was one, long length of a powerful tail that rippled with muscles. The length of the tape tapered off until they ended in long, wing-like fins.</p><p>Renji inhaled through his nose and swallowed dryly. So, his guardian angel was a sea creature after all. At least Renji didn’t have to keep throwing himself into the ocean to be sure. </p><p>The merman rested on his belly, arms folded under his head in a leisurely position. Renji saw his wiry arms were also covered in black scales up to the elbow. Each finger was webbed together, and ended in a long, hooked claw. </p><p>“You came back.” Was the first thing Renji thought to say. It was stated as a fact, but had the twist of a question as well.</p><p>“I did.” The merman spoke, and Renji saw his lips part over a mouth full of long, jagged white teeth. His tail flexed and writhed behind him, and Renji saw a bright line of gold  travel up the sides of his tail and illuminate his scales a fiery orange. Like the luminescence that certain deep-sea creatures displayed to lure in their prey.</p><p>Did that make Renji the prey? It had arguably worked on him. In which case, he was as dumb as a fish.</p><p>“You did that on purpose.” The merman said with an accusing tone. His brows were furrowed, lips pursed, almost like he was pouting. “Don’t jump off the dock again, or I promise I really will let you drown.” </p><p>Despite the blatant weirdness, Renji felt his lips crack in a smile. “Why did you save me, then?” </p><p>“Is it so wrong to heroically rescue a handsome sailor?” </p><p>“You’re not supposed to rescue me. You’re supposed to lure me close and drag me to the bottom of the ocean.”</p><p>“You would prefer that? Because it could be arranged.”</p><p>Renji laughed a little bit, cocking his head at the creature. Who, in turn, mirrored Renji’s movement. Renji had anticipated that the being he found might be stand-offish, maybe even hostile at being discovered. Getting flirted with by a merman was objectively hysterical. </p><p>“I liked your singing.” </p><p>An orange-tinted blush appeared to light up the merman’s face. Renji expected him to break eye-contact, but it seemed like he didn’t know he was meant to turn his lapis lazuli eyes away. Or maybe, he couldn’t. Maybe he was just as fascinated with Renji as Renji was with him.</p><p>“I liked yours, too.” </p><p>Now Renji’s pink blush matched his orange one. </p><p>A clawed finger traced lines in the wet sand. It made a  gentle scratching noise that matched the rhythm of the waves slapping against Renji’s bare feet. </p><p>“Did you really save me because you thought I was good-looking?”</p><p>“Well, no. I thought it would be a shame to watch a human drown and do nothing. I only noticed you were good-looking after the fact. I hope that doesn’t disappoint you.” The merman propped himself up on his elbows, stretching out the bend in his graceful back. Those terrifying incisors flashed in a half-moon smile. “My name is Izuru, by the way.”</p><p>“Huh.” Renji quirked his brow. The name sounded oddly human. Kind of proper in fact. But it was nice, too.  “I’m Renji.” </p><p>“It’s nice to meet you again, Renji.” Izuru looked pleased. He was so eloquent, speaking like a proper gentleman, Renji imagined he had to have spoken with humans before. He reminded Renji of poets and authors, despite the way that his shimmering, inhuman scales glowed gold in the blue darkness. </p><p>“Yeah.” Renji’s lips peeled over his teeth in a crooked, but completely genuine smile. </p><p>He should have known that Rukia was always right.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Renji came out to the beach when the sunset had faded into dust, and the moon began its grand ascent. If he wanted to, he could have traced all the constellations that served as a map when home felt far away and the ocean felt limitless. </p><p>He held his hand out above him, spread his palm against the great map of the night sky. There, in the joint between his finger and his thumb, was the North Star. Slide his hand over, and he caught all three glowing gems of Orion’s belt between his knuckles.</p><p>It was nice to look up and find those familiar patterns when he felt scared and couldn’t tell anyone else about it. They are eternal and infinite, and they will never lie to Renji or steer him wrong. </p><p>He felt a little scared now, though he had walked this beach probably hundreds of times before. Izuru always came when Renji called for him, but he dreaded to think of a day when there would be no one there. </p><p>The dim lights of civilization faded far behind the dunes, lost under a wall of tall grass and white sand. Renji breathed in the familiar salt of the ocean, and he kicked off his boots. </p><p>He set them aside somewhere dry, along with his socks, shirt, and pants. Until there was nothing left between him and the beach except for the skin and blood that divided them. Renji set his hair back in a tight braid so that the salt water wouldn’t leave it in tangles, and draped it down his back. </p><p>The waves rolled over Renji’s thighs as he waded into the water. He closed his eyes and gingerly felt his way around the small stones with the bottom of his feet, testing his weight so as to not hurt himself until the hard stones faded to soft, pillow sand. And then, eventually, he couldn’t reach anything with his foot at all. </p><p>The ocean was wild at night, but Renji had no worries about being dragged out from the beach. Not anymore. Now, he only feared being alone.</p><p>Once you cut away all his bravado, Renji was like any run-of-the-mill human sailor. He was extraordinary in the strength of his resolve and his determination and his bravery, but there was nothing inherently special about him. Look anywhere on the docks and you’d find someone else with broad shoulders, tattoos, and years of aching loneliness. </p><p>Any of them would be lucky to have their own guardian angel. To find Izuru, who was beautiful and terrifying. Every inch of him, every fin and scale, was remarkable </p><p>Renji cycled his legs against the water, his shoulders bobbing between water and cool air. He called for Izuru with the same melody that he always did, and had to listen to his rasping voice scrape over the buzzing waves. </p><p>He kept imagining that maybe one day Izuru would not come immediately when summoned. That Renji wouldn’t see the thread of gold weave between the gray waves, a twisting and extraordinary shape that moved in a way distinctly inhuman.</p><p>Izuru’s cheek pressed against Renji’s abdomen, burying his face against Renji’s skin. The smooth scales slid over Renji like river stones. </p><p>Izuru’s arms reached around him, hooked upwards to wrap his webbed fingers over Renji’s shoulders. The edge of his claws dug in slightly, not enough to draw blood or even to hurt, but to hang on. Renji kicked his legs as he swims and he felt the brush from Izuru’s tail between his thighs. </p><p>Renji let himself be pulled under the water. Let his hands and his mouth find Izuru’s shape against the dark ocean. Here was the slope of his chest, the frill of the gills under his ribs. Here was his throat, which housed his siren-like voice. </p><p>Here was his face. His eyes that saw Renji even when Renji couldn’t see him back. His cheeks, his lips, his triangle teeth. </p><p>Renji kissed as much as he could find. He kissed the shape of a smile on Izuru’s face, the face of his savior and hero, before Izuru lifted him back up to the air.</p>
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